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I took the day off today to take Nina to the vet. She’s got a cherry eye (link) that hasn’t resolved itself, so I figured she would need to get it surgically repaired, just as we had to do six years ago with her other eye. Our vet concurred and we set the appointment for Nina’s surgery. Aside from one shot she received today, the trip was pretty painless for Nina, which is more than I can say it will be for my checkbook next Tuesday.

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One of the reasons I chose to do a year of self-portraits was to push myself photographically. I knew that there would be times when I would feel silly, or ugly, or uncomfortable. I knew there would be times when I would hesitate before posting an image.

This image below is one of those hesitations. Taken nearly a month ago, I have sat on this one for weeks, wondering when, or if, I would ever have the courage to publish it.

This photograph speaks to me, and it speaks for me. It is both an image of my aging body and a symbol of it – beginning to show the wear of time – but still mine, and still strong.

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This week’s WordPress photo challenge is pretty much Photography 101. It’s a “rule” that I instinctively follow now. Except when I purposefully don’t. In their photo challenge post, WordPress defines the rule of thirds a bit too simply.

The Rule of Thirds is a photography concept that puts the subject of the photograph off-center, which usually results in blank space in the rest of the image.

The rule of thirds is a principle of the Golden ratio with broad application as a “rule of thumb” or guideline which applies to the process of composing visual images such as designs, films, paintings, and photographs.[1] The guideline proposes according to the principle of the Golden section search that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.[2] Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject.

[ . . . ]

The rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guide lines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section. The main reason for observing the rule of thirds is to discourage placement of the subject at the center, or prevent a horizon from appearing to divide the picture in half.

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Last night I went to bed far too late for a work night, but thought, “If I sleep deeply enough it might not be so bad.”

Not so much.

First it was the cold. I just couldn’t get warm, even though I had on leggings, a t-shirt and a sweater, and was sleeping on flannel sheets with a comforter and an extra blanket. I cannot explain why I was cold but it is something that just happens to me every once in a while. Eventually I began to warm up.

Just in time for the smoke detector to begin to chirp…about once a minute or so, to alert us to the fact that we needed to change the battery. I glanced at the clock.

2:44 a.m.

Ugh. My alarm goes off at 5.

The chirp, while annoying, wasn’t that loud, so I thought, “If I just close the bedroom door, I should be able to sleep through this and deal with it in the morning.” So I threw off the covers, pulled myself out of my nice warm (finally) bed, closed the bedroom door and crawled back under the covers.

Except that now Jezebel was on the wrong side of the bedroom door, and meowing piteously to get into the bedroom. So I got up, let her in, and re-closed the bedroom door against the chirping smoke detector. One would have thought Jezzie would have been so grateful, she would have bounded onto the bed and settled down between my knees.

Oh no. Cue the continuous meowing, me patting the space between my knees and trying to quietly lure her onto the bed without disturbing Sweetie. It wasn’t working. Sweetie stirred and groaned. Eventually Jezebel jumped on the bed, but thought it would be a much better idea to march up to my pillow, purr loudly and headbutt me so that I would lift the covers to let her crawl into the space she has loved since she was a kitten: the curve of my stomach as I lay on my side.

Headbutt, crawl under the covers, lay down for five seconds, back up again, more stomping on my pillow, more purring and headbutts, and then finally, when I was just about to kill her, she decided maybe she ought to settle down for the night.

And then my stomach started to act up.

So, yeah. Not a lot of sleep to start the week, and this image pretty much expresses how I feel right now.

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Yesterday Kayla and Cory came over to my home studio for our second session. I am so grateful to this couple for being open to me and allowing me the privilege of photographing this very special time in their lives. Here are just a few from our session.